As Steve and I sign off little by little from activities and responsibilities here in Houston, the taste is bittersweet. Bitter, because moving away from time-tested friends is heart wrenching. Sweet, because an unknown exciting adventure awaits. Bitter, because unknown is uncomfortable. Sweet, because heart-connected friendships are treasures that distance can’t destroy. Bittersweet, but not bitter-ness, or sugary-sweet pretense. It’s life. Texas hill country living and Casita adventures are less than a month away! It’s all good.
We are naming our Casita travel trailer “La Perlita” – (“Little Pearl”).Large Glimåkra Freja tapestry frame and expressive tapestry weaving.Adventures are coming soon… We will pick up our new little pearl the day after Steve retires and pull it to our hill country home.
May you have friends by your side when you face bittersweet seasons.
This is the moment we’ve been waiting for! We finally get to see the whole tapestry. This lizard has given me quite a ride! I have learned plenty. Things I’m happy with myself about, like drawing a cartoon from a photograph, following the cartoon details, making and keeping track of butterflies. And some things I’d like to improve, like choosing colors that give the best contrast, managing the cartoon under the tapestry, and choosing where to pick the floats. I’m eager to do four-shaft tapestry again so I can learn some more!
I wove the fringe into an edging, ending with a small braid. Next, I will tack the edging and braids to the back, clip weft tails on the back, and sew on a backing fabric. And then, I’ll find a special place to hang this Lizard tapestry in our Texas hill country home, just a half mile from the place I saw and photographed the cute little green anole in the first place.
Lizard Tapestry. Next steps are clipping weft tails on the back, adding a backing, and hanging in our Texas hill country home.
May your learning experiences take you for an exciting ride.
Happy Weaving, Karen
~Change Is Coming~
With Steve’s approaching retirement, I am implementing some adjustments for Warped for Good. Friday posts will become less frequent, and by December you will receive new posts only on Tuesdays. Today is my final Quiet Friday post, something I’ve enjoyed doing once a month for the five and-a-half years Warped for Good has been active.
I invite you to continue joining with me on this weaving journey at Warped for Good!
This is the third and final gift promise from last Christmas. A Cornflower and Willow 8/2 cotton warp will become a throw in wavy (undulating) twill for my daughter-in-law Lindsay. I am hopeful that I will be able to finish it before Christmas. As promised. (See Weaving a Gift.)
Talk about thick and thirsty towels! Double weave makes these hand towels thick. And the linen in the cottolin threads makes them highly absorbent. The colors are fantastic together. When our daughter Melody moves with her little family to Chile, she can set up her new home with these made-for-her towels. My love is woven into every single pick.
I have included two short little videos just for the fun of it. Enjoy!
This project started in my weaving studio in our Houston home, where I beamed the warp.
And then we decided to move! We sold the house and moved into an apartment. The big loom was dismantled, with the towel warp on the back beam. Then, we moved all the pieces to our Texas hill country home.
I wove hanging tabs on my band loom. And I discovered that I could showcase both sides of the colorful towel if I stitch the hanging tab on the side of the towel, off center.
The towels are hemmed and pressed, ready to brighten the day!
May you put threads of love into everything you do.
I hope you haven’t forgotten about this sweet little loom at our Texas hill country home. It is refreshing to be able to start right back up and weave another placemat. This is a breeze, even with two double-bobbin shuttles. Color and weave brings plenty of design play. Over the weekend I was able to squeeze in enough weaving time to finish one more placemat.
New placemat begins. Two red picks will become the cutting line that separates placemats.Peaceful setting for unhurried weaving.
There is no hurry or urgency with this project. Other events, transitions, and necessities have taken precedence the last few months. It’s nice to have a ready loom that doesn’t hold a deadline. Simple two-treadleplain weave during a transitional season is a welcome respite.
Two doubled-weft picks of dark coral make a line of contrast in the color-and-weave cotton placemat.
Faith is trust. It’s the simple framework we long for when life gets complicated. Trusting the Lord is like knowing what to expect when you throw the shuttles, yet still being pleasantly surprised as you see the fabric form in front of you. His grace removes the hurry and the worry. We find his grace through faith. And isn’t that exactly the respite we need?
